THESE GUYS LOOK FAMILIAR: The Dodgers will play a pair of games today and tonight with split-squads playing against Texas in Surprise this afternoon and against the Mariners tonight at Camelback Ranch. Capacity crowds are expected for both Dodger games at The Ranch this weekend with tomorrow’s 1:05 p.m. game against the Giants also approaching a sellout.

The Dodgers and Rangers met yesterday at Camelback Ranch, with Los Angeles emerging as 2-1 victors. Hanley Ramirez smashed a two-run homer in the first inning off Martin Perez to account for the Dodgers’ scoring. Right-hander Zach Lee made his first appearance of the spring and tossed 2.0 scoreless frames to pick up the victory. Brian Wilson, Kenley Jansen, J.P. Howell and Chris Perez each pitched a scoreless inning of relief and Tom Windle picked up the save with 2.0 scoreless frames to close out the game.

The two clubs last met in the regular season in 2009 and the Dodgers are 11-9 all-time against the Rangers.

Six Dodgers are pulling double-duty today and are scheduled to appear in both games; OF Mike Baxter, OF Joc Pederson (starting both games), INF Alex Guerrero, INF Miguel Rojas, INF Clint Robinson and INF Brendan Harris.

ON THE MOUND: Paul Maholm will make his first start of the spring after allowing just one hit in 2.0 scoreless frames on Sunday in relief against the Padres. Maholm forced the Padres to ground into a double play in that outing and has induced a Major League-leading 184 double play balls since 2006. The 31-year-old, who enters his first season with the Dodgers, went 10-11 with a 4.41 ERA in 26 starts with the Braves last year and enters the 2014 season just 50 strikeouts shy of 1,000 Ks for his career.

Seth Rosin will make his third appearance this afternoon, last pitching on Monday against the Athletics with 3.0 scoreless innings, and has struck out eight without issuing a walk in 5.0 scoreless innings this spring. Rosin, who was acquired from the Mets after he was selected from Philadelphia in the Rule 5 draft, appeared in 26 games (23 starts) last season, going 9-6 with a 4.33 ERA. He was originally selected by the Giants in the fourth round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft.

Non-roster invitee Carlos Frias will also take the mound for his third appearance of the spring after allowing one run on two hits in 1.0 inning on Thursday against the Angels. The 24-year-old has allowed a run in both of his 1.0-inning appearances this spring and is coming off an impressive stint with Gigantes del Cibao in the Dominican Winter League, going 1-0 with a 1.62 ERA in 15 relief appearances.

Minor leaguers RHP Steve Edlefsen (#86), RHP Justin Souza (#88), RHP Sam Demel (#38) and RHP Henry Sosa (#95) will suit up for the Dodgers this afternoon. Edlefsen, one of the newest Dodgers, was signed out of the club’s Feb. 27 open tryout and has appeared in 27 big league games during the course of his career with the Giants in 2011-2012, going 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA. The 28-year-old was originally selected by the Giants in the 16th round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Nebraska.

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE!: The Dodgers will open the 2014 season two weeks from today (!) against the D-backs in MLB’s Opening Series in Sydney, Australia. The historic Sydney Cricket Ground has been undergoing renovations to prepare for the first-ever MLB games to be played Down Under. The club will depart Arizona following its March 16 game against the Rockies and land in Sydney on March 18. Following a few days of workouts and sightseeing, the Dodgers will play Team Australia in an exhibition on March 20 and then take on the D-backs on March 22 and 23 to open the regular season.

GETTING CONNECTED: Following tonight’s game against the Mariners, SportsNet LA will debut “Connected With…Adrian Gonzalez” at 10:00 p.m. PT. Alanna Rizzo conducted the in-depth interview, where Gonzalez discussed growing up in both Mexico and the United States, being the No. 1 draft pick and how living in Los Angeles is a great fit for him.

Gonzalez is batting .400 (6-for-15) with three runs scored, two doubles, a homer and an RBI through six games this spring. Last year, in his first full season as a Dodger, the 31-year-old batted .293 and led the club in most offensive categories, including hits (171), home runs (22), RBI (100) and games played (157).

Last year, Gonzalez batted .323 with runners in scoring position (51-for-158), the 13th-best mark in the NL, and ranks fifth among active players with a .328 career batting average with RISP.

ON THE MEND: This morning, Zack Greinke threw approximately 35 pitches in a simulated game to Dodger outfielder Matt Kemp, who is also progressing in his rehab. Kemp took some limited-range flyballs today in the outfield to supplement his running program.

"I’ve asked him, ‘Honestly, where do you think you’re going to end up?’ "
Mattingly told Plunkett. "And he says, ‘Third base.’ I think he knows
as you get older, you make that move. Hanley is like Alex (Rodriguez).
He’s got third base power and pop. As he gets older, obviously guys are
going to slow down."

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